Some considerations for improving aspects of air handling systems, such as heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for use in residential and commercial applications, is to produce air handling systems that are compact in size, energy efficient, economical to manufacture, and reasonable to install, operate and maintain. However, conventional air handling systems may be configured or otherwise contain components that do not realize the above-described development goals.
For example, a conventional HVAC air handling unit (AHU) contains a heat exchanger, blower, and a plurality of other structural and electrical components disposed within a rectangular cabinet having an air return opening at one end and an air supply opening at an opposing end. The components are typically positioned in the cabinet to promote the AHU's air handling capability. However, the volumetric size of a conventional AHU's cabinet is much larger than that encompassed by the components housed inside. Consequently, conventional AHUs may be undesirably large.